GiroNatsu AU Twoshot
by RunwithscissorsXXXbattlescars
Summary: Two chapters, two possibilities based on different decisions. The first one is that Saburo's the one to be hit by the truck. The second is where Giroro pushes him out of the way and is killed himself. What will Natsumi's reactions be? How will the two different situations affect her? *candidate for deletion*
1. Saburo's Death

**I don't own Keroro Gunso. Be warned for... uh... Saburo-bashing.**

**There, I said it.**

* * *

It was a normal afternoon on planet Pekopon that day. The sun shone as bright as Angol Mois' overly-sparkly smile, and the air had a reassuring warmth to it. Such perfect tranquility put Natsumi Hinata in a false sense of security. It felt like everything was fine, but something was just… off. Normal as it may have been to her and all the other Pekoponians in contact with the alien frogs who failed constantly to invade, something was just not right.

Ah, well. That mattered not for the pink-haired fifteen-year-old, because today, something else was on her mind. Saburo-senpai would be walking home with her! With _her_! She could hardly contain her excitement. It was like a dream come true!

The ending school bell rang at last, and Natsumi hastily gathered her homework into her book bag and slung it over her shoulder. _Saburo-senpai told me to wait just outside of the school,_ she reminded herself, and did so, so as not to disappoint her mental boyfriend. _This will be the best day ever!_ she thought, hands trembling in anticipation.

Out from behind a tree poked a gray head topped with a—rather dorky, though Natsumi did not mind. Such features could be overlooked in comparison to the rest of his amazing qualities—yellow hat with Kululu's symbol on it. He'd been skipping school, as usual. _How cool and rebellious!_ thought Natsumi. _Saburo-senpai just gets hotter and hotter each day!_ The sunlight trickled down his hair, highlighting the gorgeous grayness of it.

"S-Saburo-senpai!" she called. Saburo turned her way and exchanged a smile. _Ohmigosh, he smiled at me!_ Natsumi's face exploded with blush. _This is the freaking best day EVER!_ "R-r-r-ready to w-walk home?"

"Yup." He chuckled and slung his schoolbag (which he never used anyway) over his shoulder. "Hey, Natsumi-chan. Anyone ever tell you that your smile's really cute?"

Natsumi sucked in a big gulp of air, trying not to faint from the compliment. "R-really?" she asked.

"Yeah, reminds me of Ronald McDonald." He looked up to the sky. "God, I love that place…."

"Um… thanks?" she said. _Oh, well, I'll just pretend I only heard the first part of what he said, and it's aaaallllll better._

"So. Anyway." He slapped his hands together, grabbing her to attention. "Are we ready?"

Natsumi shuffled her feet together and forced a nod. She couldn't find her voice.

Saburo laughed again. "Haha! It's so cute when you squirm. C'mon, let's go."

"Okay!" said Natsumi.

"Cool, whatever." He started walking ahead.

"Wait for me, Saburo-senpai!" she giggled, following after. He tossed a glance over his shoulder as she caught up. Her arms contracted nervously as she held her schoolbag in front of her. "Um, Saburo-senpai, do you feel as if we're being watched?"

"Course we are. Everyone loves to watch me," he answered. "It's only natural, because I'm so beautiful, after all." He raised his arms and tucked them behind his head, and for a second Natsumi caught a whiff of a really peculiar smell. She ignored it to the best of her abilities. "A sexy body is like a TV—you never take your eyes off, even when the girls start slapping you. –623 (Mutsumi)," he self-quoted.

"Wow! You like DJ Mutsumi too?" asked Natsumi.

"Yup. He's pretty hot himself," he said.

"I _know_! That fish tank he wore to that one bikini contest was _sooooo_ handsome," she drooled. Still, she couldn't help but throw another glance over her shoulder. Was it just her, or did she hear branches cracking in what could only be someone taking their anger out on the planet's nature? No… it couldn't possibly be….

"Giroro!" she yelled angrily. She heard something jump in the foliage behind her. "I know you're in there, aren't you? No sense hiding. Come out." Right as she commanded it, a guilty-looking Giroro slunk out from behind a tree, though the forced look of irritation on his face suggested he was trying to hide the former emotion. "That's right, you. Come here."

Giroro slowly walked up to her, refusing to face the pink-haired Pekoponian. She never knew why he did this, but it was probably because he found their faces disgusting or something. It was her best guess, at least.

"Why were you watching us? Why? You _knew_ I was walking home with Saburo-senpai today!" she scolded. Giroro shot her a look for the shortest second, then looked away. But Natsumi's quick reflexes caught the menacing look he threw in Saburo's direction. Saburo winked seductively. Giroro stopped looking menacingly at him and instead a wave of nausea replaced it.

"Huh? Giroro, what's wrong?" asked Natsumi, her voice now filled with concern. She watched as his healthy dark red paled to an almost-green. "You look like you've seen a rotting corpse."

"That's 'cuz I have," he answered casually. "And he's right next to you!"

Natsumi, misinterpreting this, thought he meant himself. "Giroro, you're not a walking corpse! Don't think of yourself like that."

Giroro's body convulsed again. Natsumi looked behind her for what he saw was so sickening, but only saw Saburo smiling and waving.

"You aren't seeing stuff that isn't there again, are you? Or are you just really sick?" she asked. Giroro could not answer. _Wow, his condition's pretty bad_, thought Natsumi. She looked over at Saburo and shrugged. "Sorry, Saburo-senpai. Giroro might be sick. Is it okay if we bring him along? I _promise_ he won't disrupt us," she told him.

Saburo nodded. "Cool, whatever. I'm fine with that. I like three sometimes."

"Walks between three people? Yeah, I like those too." She added under her breath, "Though I was HOPING today would just be a special walk between _us_." She glared at Giroro. "Oh, well. We'd better go along. Come on, Giroro." She grabbed him by the hand and his facial color suddenly jumped from that nauseous green to a bright pink. _His skin really DOES change color,_ she thought.

"We can just ignore him," she whispered to Saburo.

"I'm good at doing that," he said back.

So the three teens(?)… two teens and one alien… continued walking home. Saburo and Natsumi made small talk, while Giroro secretly fantasized as Natsumi clutched his hand. She giggled suddenly but he didn't register what it was about. So much for knowing your surroundings. The world was a bright haze.

"And then," continued Saburo, "he tried to run after me, shouting _'Give me my painting back!'_ "

Natsumi laughed again. "Oh, Saburo-senpai, you tell the funniest stories!"

"And that's not the last of them," he said to her. "There was this one time, I was buying another Gundam model, and…"

They stopped as they reached the crosswalk. Natsumi giggled as she listened to Saburo's stories, and Giroro was in fantasy mode.

"…and then she fell into the dumpster!" Saburo had just finished telling his story about a past girlfriend. Natsumi laughed.

"That was brilliant, Saburo-senpai!" agreed Natsumi. "You had every right to put her in there if she dumped you, because obviously she can't see you for what you truly are." She paused. "Hey, do you hear that weird car?" she asked.

Saburo froze and stopped making car sound effects with his mouth. _Wow, this is sure awkward,_ he thought. "Uhm… nnnoooooo," he lied.

"Oh, okay." Natsumi continued walking when the light above her changed color, too distracted to really care about what was happening around them. Giroro and Saburo followed in tow. The world moved in slow motion as they set their feet upon the street, and then it all happened so fast. The image of the gasoline truck flashed by her too quickly for her to react, and—

"NATSUMIIIIII!" She heard someone—Giroro?—scream her name as he pushed her out of the street. She felt his small body fall on top of her, but someone was still out there.

Saburo.

She saw Giroro cringe and look back for a moment. There would be no time. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Natsumi, but it was too late.

Red. That was the only color she saw for those few seconds after the impact. The light changed color again, and she now saw red and green. And soon, nothing, when the tears clouded her vision.

She felt arms around her, and her body was moving on its own, convulsing with sobs. Police were around her, and there were more red lights than usual. She glanced up at the people around her. The driver of the truck was sitting on the curb, looking just as terrified. The truck itself had toppled on its side, but had been toed away only to reveal that horrible stain of blood and remaining parts of flesh and yellow hat. Something was piled on a stretcher under a blanket. Curiously, Natsumi walked over to it and tried to look under. A policeman slapped her hand away.

"You won't want to touch that, miss," he warned her. "That gasoline truck flattened him good…."

Natsumi's eyes widened in horror. She covered her mouth as she felt as familiar sensation rise up to her brain, and nature took its course in a nearby bush. She felt a hand again on her shaking back, and turned around to see Giroro. Such a familiar and reassuring sight. She hugged him and sobbed, not even caring any longer if he was no longer conscious from her warm touch. And then it all faded to black….

* * *

Natsumi awoke the next morning in her bed. Duh. But it seemed too bright to…. What time was it? She glanced over at her clock. 10:30! She was late for school! Natsumi quickly tossed the blankets off herself. _If I'm late for school, I might miss seeing Saburo-senpai this morn—_

She froze as it hit her like running into a brick wall. That was right. Saburo was… was…. Natsumi slowly sat back into bed and stuffed her face into the pillow, sobbing. She felt a hand stroke her head, but she didn't really care. It was so warm and sweet…. Natsumi lifted up her arm and touched it. The hand quickly recoiled, confirming her suspicion.

Natsumi wiped her eyes and sniffled, sitting up. "Giroro?" she asked.

Giroro quickly looked away. "Y-you were sobbing, okay? I c-c-couldn't leave you like that. Besides, th-the police insisted on t-t-taking you back, but I d-didn't trust them."

"Wait…" Natsumi lowered her eyebrows. "…did you watch me the whole night?"

Giroro twitched. "Uh—no. It… it w-was just half of the night, I swear!"

She gave a small smile, which was relief to Giroro. She giggled quietly and scooped him into her arms. "Thank you, Giroro," said Natsumi, though her voice was still shaky. She burst into sobs again quickly soon after.

"Y-you're… um…." Giroro tried to fight the blush exploding on his face. He shut his eyes and held the sobbing girl tightly in his tiny arms. "You're welcome, Natsumi."

They held each other in silence for about another hour or so, until Giroro finally pulled away. "Oh, uh… you're not going to school, by the way. But… you probably know that by now. Fuyuki told me that the teachers wanted you to take a day off. You know, after…" He bit his lip. "…_that_."

Natsumi's lower lip trembled again at the memory. She gave a small hiccup, knowing the sobs were slowly coming back. She squeezed Giroro again for comfort, and he let her.

"I'm… sorry. About what happened," he whispered into her hair. His deep voice sounded so welcoming, so comforting to her ears.

She nodded. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"But he meant a lot to you," he said in a quiet voice. Natsumi's eyes picked up the bit of shakiness it almost took on. _If I didn't know any better,_ she thought, _I'd say… Giroro sounds a bit… jealous._

"I guess some things can't be helped if they're written in fate," she told him, her voice just as quivering. "Saburo-senpai was probably meant to… to…" She cringed. It was such a hard word to say. "…die… that day, so… we shouldn't tamper with…"

"Natsumi." Giroro took himself off her and looked her straight in the eye, which was hard for him. Even she was shocked by this gesture. "_Nothing_ is written in fate. I'm sure we could have avoided that if we were a bit more cautious…." He trailed off and looked away from her, remebering that it was Natsumi who went out into the street first. "…But if anything, it's my fault," he finished.

Natsumi knit her brow. "But why? I was the one who went out into the street first, not you."

"Yes, but I should have been paying attention."

"So should've I!" she argued.

"H-he was the one distracting you…!"

"But it's not his fault!"

"Yeah, it's my fault!"

"It is NOT!"

"N-no!" Giroro was yelling now. "I—I could have saved him too!"

Natsumi stared back at him, the look on her face giving away her fright, almost disbelievingly. Giroro sighed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled," he said quietly.

Natsumi shook her head. "It's all right, I understand," she whispered, stroking his head. He froze like stone. "But why? Why did you do it?"

"D-do… do what?" he asked. Either he was playing dumb, or he really was out of it from her touch.

_He's totally playing dumb,_ she decided. "Save me. Why'd you save me?" she asked.

"Is it really that oblivious?" he asked her, almost sarcastically.

Natsumi considered for a moment if she should nod or shake her head. Angry at herself for thinking such a thing, she simply remained silent.

"Well…" she finally spoke after a moment of saying nothing, "if you'd have left me… it would have benefitted your invasion…." She mentally slapped herself for suggesting such a thing. _Great job, genius. You just spoiled a perfectly fine moment. Now Giroro's going to have the invasion on his mind._

Giroro looked away. "D-do you really think of me that… low?" he asked her. She shot her head toward him.

"Huh?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, almost embarrassed. "I mean… it probably would have benefitted the invasion, but… I… I couldn't do that to a… a…" His volume dropped. "…a close friend…."

She stopped for a moment. "Y-you think of me as a… friend…?"

He flinched. _I KNEW saying that would be stupid! She doesn't even feel that way toward me…. Well… on the bright side… it's not like I confessed my love or anything… yet… so, I guess getting rejected from being friends won't be all that bad…._

"G-Giroro, I…" Tears started welling up in her eyes.

_Crap. Now I'm making her cry. Why must I keep screwing up?_ he asked himself. That was odd… he felt as if he was being lifted into the air. He saw Natsumi's arms fasten around him as she hugged him close.

"You dummy!" she was sobbing. "We were already friends, stupid! Don't tell me you've forgotten…."

"…Huh…?" said Giroro, in a complete and utter daze. With his ability to comprehend reality useless, he merely sat there as she embraced him. Soon he found his arms going around her as well.

"Again… I'm sorry… about Saburo," he told her once they broke apart. "I'd tell you that it would be best to move on, and it IS, but…" His hand absentmindedly wandered onto hers. "Y-you're probably still hurting on the inside…."

Natsumi wiped her tears and smiled—this time, her real one, the one that Giroro had missed and loved. "Giroro, you're, like, the best friend ever to me," she told him. Giroro blushed at this. She giggled. "I'm really happy to have someone who cares so much about me."

_Oh, if only she knew…_ was what he thought to this.

"In fact, I'm pretty sure that even Saburo-senpai… didn't… care as much as you do."

Giroro cringed. _I can't tell her that he didn't care at all. That would pain her more than any gasoline truck ever could._

But what she said next was even more shocking. He felt her hand press down on his shoulder. "Giroro… I… love you."

He nodded gently, considering this. Slowly… the words processed. He fell out of her bed. "WAIT, WHA—?"

"You heard me." Natsumi smiled again. "I love you, Giroro."

He fainted.

_Oh, no! I killed him!_ she thought. "Giroro!" she called, shaking his body. "Giroro, wake up! Oh… he's not waking…. What should I…—" Natsumi was cut off as a pair of lips were pressed against hers. She gave a little yelp as Giroro lept into her arms, toppling them both to the floor. After a while, they broke apart. "Why…?" she said spacily.

"I… I, uh… I didn't tell you the full reason of why I pushed you out of the way," said Giroro quietly.

Natsumi put her hands on her hips. "Okay, tell me."

"Ummmm…" he blushed. "Well, first of all… I probably would have pushed anyone out of the way, regardless of who they were. Soldier's instinct… you know?" Natsumi nodded. "But still, it feels like… it's… my… duty…" He looked away. "…to protect you."

She cocked her head to the side, a gesture the took the place of her question.

"B-because… because you m-mean a lot to me." Giroro looked her in the eye. "I love you, Natsumi."

Many emotions overtook Natsumi right at that moment. The first one, confusion. Then, once she remembered that she'd confessed too, relief. And shock. Then guilt, as she slowly realized everything she did with Saburo probably made Giroro really jealous. And last came an emotion she'd never felt before. It engulfed her body like an ocean wave, only this was more pleasurable and curious. The tears in her eyes left completely, and she was now feeling confident and content with where she was, how things were, and who she was with. She wouldn't have had it any other way, Saburo's death or no Saburo's death. Right then, Giroro was all she needed.

"Oh, Giroro," she sighed as she scooped him into her arms in a tight embrace. Their lips met in a gentle kiss. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

**How happy! I wonder how I'll torture them next chapter now that I've already forshadowed it? Dun dun dun... What will change fate? What will the alternate decision be? And will it involve pinapples, or cake? Or *gasp* NEITHER?**


	2. Giroro's Death

**...Uh...**

**Remind me again why I bashed Saburo so much in my stories? I mean, I know I hate him and all, but did I honestly think that people wouldn't be offended...?**

**Wow.**

**Okay, yeah, sorry, this is just me re-reading the thing and making a new A/N.**

**Anyway I'll shut up now. The beginning of this will be the same as the first chapter so you can compare it, but if you're a lazy reader (like me), feel free to just skip over it until you get to Natsumi's "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" ...Ooh, that's fun to type :D**

* * *

It was a normal afternoon on planet Pekopon that day. The sun shone as bright as Angol Mois' overly-sparkly smile, and the air had a reassuring warmth to it. Such perfect tranquility put Natsumi Hinata in a false sense of security. It felt like everything was fine, but something was just… off. Normal as it may have been to her and all the other Pekoponians in contact with the alien frogs who failed constantly to invade, something was just not right.

Ah, well. That mattered not for the pink-haired fifteen-year-old, because today, something else was on her mind. Saburo-senpai would be walking home with her! With _her_! She could hardly contain her excitement. It was like a dream come true!

The ending school bell rang at last, and Natsumi hastily gathered her homework into her book bag and slung it over her shoulder. _Saburo-senpai told me to wait just outside of the school,_ she reminded herself, and did so, so as not to disappoint her mental boyfriend. _This will be the best day ever!_ she thought, hands trembling in anticipation.

Out from behind a tree poked a gray head topped with a—rather dorky, though Natsumi did not mind. Such features could be overlooked in comparison to the rest of his amazing qualities—yellow hat with Kululu's symbol on it. He'd been skipping school, as usual. _How cool and rebellious!_ thought Natsumi. _Saburo-senpai just gets hotter and hotter each day!_ The sunlight trickled down his hair, highlighting the gorgeous grayness of it.

"S-Saburo-senpai!" she called. Saburo turned her way and exchanged a smile. _Ohmigosh, he smiled at me!_ Natsumi's face exploded with blush. _This is the freaking best day EVER!_ "R-r-r-ready to w-walk home?"

"Yup." He chuckled and slung his schoolbag (which he never used anyway) over his shoulder. "Hey, Natsumi-chan. Anyone ever tell you that your smile's really cute?"

Natsumi sucked in a big gulp of air, trying not to faint from the compliment. "R-really?" she asked.

"Yeah, reminds me of Ronald McDonald." He looked up to the sky. "God, I love that place…."

"Um… thanks?" she said. _Oh, well, I'll just pretend I only heard the first part of what he said, and it's aaaallllll better._

"So. Anyway." He slapped his hands together, grabbing her to attention. "Are we ready?"

Natsumi shuffled her feet together and forced a nod. She couldn't find her voice.

Saburo laughed again. "Haha! It's so cute when you squirm. C'mon, let's go."

"Okay!" said Natsumi.

"Cool, whatever." He started walking ahead.

"Wait for me, Saburo-senpai!" she giggled, following after. He tossed a glance over his shoulder as she caught up. Her arms contracted nervously as she held her schoolbag in front of her. "Um, Saburo-senpai, do you feel as if we're being watched?"

"Course we are. Everyone loves to watch me," he answered. "It's only natural, because I'm so beautiful, after all." He raised his arms and tucked them behind his head, and for a second Natsumi caught a whiff of a really peculiar smell. She ignored it to the best of her abilities. "A sexy body is like a TV—you never take your eyes off, even when the girls start slapping you. –623 (Mutsumi)," he self-quoted.

"Wow! You like DJ Mutsumi too?" asked Natsumi.

"Yup. He's pretty hot himself," he said.

"I _know_! That fish tank he wore to that one bikini contest was _sooooo_ handsome," she drooled. Still, she couldn't help but throw another glance over her shoulder. Was it just her, or did she hear branches cracking in what could only be someone taking their anger out on the planet's nature? No… it couldn't possibly be….

"Giroro!" she yelled angrily. She heard something jump in the foliage behind her. "I know you're in there, aren't you? No sense hiding. Come out." Right as she commanded it, a guilty-looking Giroro slunk out from behind a tree, though the forced look of irritation on his face suggested he was trying to hide the former emotion. "That's right, you. Come here."

Giroro slowly walked up to her, refusing to face the pink-haired Pekoponian. She never knew why he did this, but it was probably because he found their faces disgusting or something. It was her best guess, at least.

"Why were you watching us? Why? You _knew_ I was walking home with Saburo-senpai today!" she scolded. Giroro shot her a look for the shortest second, then looked away. But Natsumi's quick reflexes caught the menacing look her threw in Saburo's direction. Saburo winked seductively. Giroro stopped looking menacingly at him and instead a wave of nausea replaced it.

"Huh? Giroro, what's wrong?" asked Natsumi, her voice now filled with concern. She watched as his healthy dark red paled to an almost-green. "You look like you've seen a rotting corpse."

"That's 'cuz I have," he answered casually. "And he's right next to you!"

Natsumi, misinterpreting this, thought he meant himself. "Giroro, you're not a walking corpse! Don't think of yourself like that."

Giroro's body convulsed again. Natsumi looked behind her for what he saw was so sickening, but only saw Saburo smiling and waving.

"You aren't seeing stuff that isn't there again, are you? Or are you just really sick?" she asked. Giroro could not answer. _Wow, his condition's pretty bad_, thought Natsumi. She looked over at Saburo and shrugged. "Sorry, Saburo-senpai. Giroro might be sick. Is it okay if we bring him along? I _promise_ he won't disrupt us," she told him.

Saburo nodded. "Cool, whatever. I'm fine with that. I like three sometimes."

"Walks between three people? Yeah, I like those too." She added under her breath, "Though I was HOPING today would just be a special walk between _us_." She glared at Giroro. "Oh, well. We'd better go along. Come on, Giroro." She grabbed him by the hand and his facial color suddenly jumped from that nauseous green to a bright pink. _His skin really DOES change color,_ she thought.

"We can just ignore him," she whispered to Saburo.

"I'm good at doing that," he said back.

So the three teens(?)… two teens and one alien… continued walking home. Saburo and Natsumi made small talk, while Giroro secretly fantasized as Natsumi clutched his hand. She giggled suddenly but he didn't register what it was about. So much for knowing your surroundings. The world was a bright haze.

"And then," continued Saburo, "he tried to run after me, shouting _'Give me my painting back!'_ "

Natsumi laughed again. "Oh, Saburo-senpai, you tell the funniest stories!"

"And that's not the last of them," he said to her. "There was this one time, I was buying another Gundam model, and…"

They stopped as they reached the crosswalk. Natsumi giggled as she listened to Saburo's stories, and Giroro was in fantasy mode.

"…and then she fell into the dumpster!" Saburo had just finished telling his story about a past girlfriend. Natsumi laughed.

"That was brilliant, Saburo-senpai!" agreed Natsumi. "You had every right to put her in there if she dumped you, because obviously she can't see you for what you truly are." She paused. "Hey, do you hear that weird car?" she asked.

Saburo froze and stopped making car sound effects with his mouth. _Wow, this is sure awkward,_ he thought. "Uhm… nnnoooooo," he lied.

"Oh, okay." Natsumi continued walking when the light above her changed color, too distracted to really care about what was happening around them. Giroro and Saburo followed in tow. The world moved in slow motion as they set their feet upon the street, and then it all happened so fast. The image of the gasoline truck flashed by her too quickly for her to react, and—

"NATSUMIIIIII!" She heard someone—Giroro?—scream her name as he pushed her out of the street. She felt his small body fall on top of her, but someone was still out there.

"Saburo-senpai!" screamed Natsumi. She saw Giroro cringe and look back for a moment.

_There's no time, you idiot,_ he told himself. _No time to choose, that is. If that jerk is really that important to Natsumi, so be it… he'll stay alive!_

"Stay here, Natsumi!" he shouted at her, jumping off. Right at the last second, he pushed the frightened teenage boy out of the way and—

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" sounded her scream as it echoed through the skies, but it was too late. With the only visible idiot out of the way, there was no chance of the truck stopping.

Red. That was the only color she saw for those few seconds after the impact. It was everywhere. Clouding her vision, splattered on her and Saburo's faces as the truck swerved painfully and toppled onto its side. The side tore and gasoline spilled out, lighting up in an explosion. The street lights changed color again, and she now saw red and green. She saw it all. It wouldn't leave her sight. She felt something wet trickle down her cheek, but didn't really care, as she fell to her knees.

Natsumi stared at the accident in front of her, not believing what she saw. The green light that had once been red. The exploded truck as well as its fallen driver. The authorities and policemen soon gathering. The horrible stain of blood in the middle of the street. There was not even a trace of Giroro, just the blood, the horrifying blood. It was all part of some weird, wrong dream. She hugged herself in horror and let out a long scream, which shortly afterward subsided to an uncontrollable sob.

Saburo let out a whistle and slung his school bag over his shoulder. "Weelll, that could have been awfully messy. Glad neither of us got hurt. C'mon, we'd better continue on home before it gets dark." He reached his arm toward her, but she slapped it away.

"No! Giroro… he's… going to be okay…" She hiccupped and tried to wipe some tears away. "…Right, Saburo-senpai?"

"Umm… I dunno…" Saburo rubbed his chin in consideration. "He looks pretty dead to me…."

At the word "dead," something snapped inside of Natsumi. There was just something that made her completely lose it. "Ha. Ha. Ha, ha ha," laughed Natsumi. "Hahaha! You're so funny." She stood up and gripped Saburo by the collar. "Tell another one, Saburo-senpai! Tell another funny joke!"

"Umm…." His eyes lit up in inspiration. "Oh! Okay. I got one. Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Natsumi smiled with a crazed look in her eyes. "Because the chicken was Giroro! And he didn't cross the road!" She spun around and hugged herself again. "BECAUSE HE'S DEAD! HA, HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! It's so funny! Don't you get it, Saburo-senpai? Huh? HUH?"

"Uhh…." Saburo nervously started backing away. "You have fun laughing to yourself, okay? I'm just gonna… go on home, uh… see ya!" He waved to her over his shoulder and ran off.

"S-Saburo-senpai…." Natsumi smiled as a tear trickled down her cheek. Her voice was shaking and unsteady. "Why did you leave me…?" She slowly turned around to Giroro's blood stain in the middle of the road. "Giroro, you left me too… you all went home without me…. Why… why…." She kicked a street lamp, denting it until it fell. "WHY! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME? _WHY_, GIRORO? TELL ME! TELL! ME! NOW! Hahaha." Natsumi lifted up the street lamp, about to throw it into a building, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She slowly turned around, looking like a frightened wild animal. Once she saw it was just a policeman, the muscles in her shoulder relaxed a bit.

"Excuse us, miss, if you could just put that street lamp down so we can speak to you for a minute," said a policeman.

She smiled and set it down. "Yes?" she asked sweetly.

The group of policeman led her to a white sheet spread across the ground like a picnic blanket. They gestured for her to look under. She lifted the blanket up and saw, to her horror, the remaining parts of Giroro. She froze at the sight of his once-comforting eyes, now permanently open and boring into her soul. She swallowed and put the blanket back over him to cover her mouth as she felt as familiar sensation rise up to her brain. A policeman led her away to let nature take its course in a nearby bush. After she had finished vomiting, he led her back for interrogation.

"Does that body look at all familiar to you, miss?" one of the policeman with a notepad and pencil asked.

"He's sleeping," said Natsumi calmly. …A little TOO calmly. "Giroro's having a nice, pleasant slumber in the middle of the street."

"Um… miss? He's dead," the policeman tried to explain.

She turned to him, the edge of her mouth twitching. "What? You don't know Giroro. Giroro takes loooooong naps."

"Giroro? Is that the name for this creature?" he asked. She nodded, and he scribbled it down. "What creature _is_… that… thing…?"

Natsumi's balled her fists in rage. All of a sudden, she started yelling at the policeman. "Giroro is NOT a thing! Giroro is an alien! An alien? Yes, an alien! Hahahha!" She hugged herself and started swaying from side to side. "And he's very sweet, and nice, and kind, and caring, and… and…" She stopped, her eyes widening. "…and… d-d-de-dead… Giroro's… dead…" she whispered. "GIRORO'S DEAD! WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM! GIIIROROOOOO!"

"Contain the crazy woman," the chief policeman instructed the others.

Natsumi had already reached the white sheet and lifted it up. She took the remains of Giroro's body in her hands and held it close. "NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM AWAY!" she screamed. "YOU CAN'T TAKE GIRORO AWAY FROM ME!"

The police officers crowded around her, holding their hands open like they were going to catch something. "Miss, I'm afraid you will have to give us the body if we are going to inspect it—"

"NO! YOU CAN'T INSPECT HIM! YOU CAN'T INSPECT MY GIRORO!" she screamed. "Giroro…" Her voice went back to sweet-sounding. "Don't worry, I'll catch up to you soon, Giroro." She stroked his bloody head for a second, then lifted him up to plant a small kiss on his lifeless lips. The policemen watched in disgust.

"Men…" The chief sighed and spoke something into his communicator. "Tranquilize the girl. She's clearly insane."

"Yes, sir!" They said, taking out a gun and aiming it at Natsumi. They pulled the trigger. All of a sudden, Natsumi felt a stabbing pain in her side. How pleasant it felt… like she was being unwillingly pulled into a deep sleep….

"I'm so tired, Giroro," she yawned, cradling his head. "Won't… you… come… sleep… with me…."

And then it all faded to black….

* * *

Natsumi awoke the next morning in her bed. Her eyes drifted toward the clock. 10:30! She was totally late for school! She started getting up out of bed, but on second thought…. Natsumi sat back down. Maybe she shouldn't bother to even go to school. It'd just be nice to lay down, sleep, and never have to awaken again….

The blankets were suffocating her, though. Compressing her will, not letting her breathe. She threw them off herself and sighed. So much for trying to get some sleep. Footsteps entered her room. She turned her head to the left and tears welled up in her eyes from the familiar image.

"G-Giroro?" she asked curiously.

He gave that warm, assuring smile to her. "Rise and shine, sleepy-head."

Natsumi breathed a sigh of relief and held him close to her body. "Oh, Giroro," she sniffed. It was almost impossible to stop the tears from streaming down her face. "I had a horrible dream where you were hit by a truck… and… d-died." Oh, great. Now the sobs were coming. "G-Giroro… do you promise… to never leave me?" she asked quietly. "Never leave me, okay? NEVER LEAVE!"

Giroro sighed and reluctantly pushed her arms off him, despite her utter disappointment. "I'm sorry, Natsumi. I can't promise that."

"Wh-why not?" she asked in disbelief and confusion.

He pressed the insignia on his hat, and suddenly a wave of mist surrounded Giroro. It swept him away and in his place stood Saburo. He rubbed his hands together and wiggled his fingers toward her. "Now, hold still, Natsumi-chan. I'll make it really quick, okay?"

Natsumi screamed.

* * *

White walls. White walls were the first thing she saw when Natsumi awoke, panting and sweating all over. _Could it all have been just a bad dream…?_ she wondered. She flexed her hand open and closed, trying to decide whether or not Giroro's death had been a dream as well… Giroro's death.

Natsumi leaned against the nearest wall and stared at the ceiling as all the memories rushed back to her like a thousand needles in her heart. She winced at the pain her mind created. Why had Giroro died? Why'd it have to be _him_? She shut her eyes and tried to replay the scene in her head, to search for clues about the inevitable.

The first thing she remembered was how she stepped into traffic when the light was red. _Oh, my god…._ She covered her mouth in horror. So Giroro's death really had been her fault after all…. Then she remembered how the gasoline truck had come, and he pushed her to the ground. Natsumi, in her confusion, saw Saburo still in the street when the truck was coming for him. She called his name. And then what? Then Giroro… Giroro looked back. He decided to save him.

_Was it because I called Saburo-senpai's name that he went back to save him?_ she wondered. _But why? Why would he do that? He HATES Saburo…._ She knit her brow, trying to search for the possibility of why he would risk his life for someone he despised. Her eyes widened. _Oh, no,_ she thought. _Was it because he saw the look on my face? Was it because he knew I didn't want Saburo-senpai to die? Was it… for me?_ She considered this for a moment. _It… couldn't be. Giroro must just be a nice guy, that's all…._

Saburo. That brought her train of thought to him next. After the accident, where had he gone? She didn't remember quite clearly…. _I must focus_. Natsumi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to coax out the memory.

_Saburo let out a whistle and slung his school bag over his shoulder. "Weelll, that could have been awfully messy. Glad neither of us got hurt. C'mon, we'd better continue on home before it gets dark."_

_"No! Giroro… he's… going to be okay…. Right, Saburo-senpai?"_

_"Umm… I dunno…. He looks pretty dead to me…."_

_"Ha. Ha. Ha, ha ha. Hahaha! You're so funny."_

_"Uhh…. You have fun laughing to yourself, okay? I'm just gonna… go on home, uh…. See ya!"_

Natsumi's eyes widened in horror as the realization hit her like running into a brick wall. _He ditched me! Saburo-senpai freaking ditched me! What a jerk!_ She gripped her head in her hands and screamed as loud as she could. It wasn't fair! It just wasn't fair! Giroro had died to save Saburo for Natsumi's sake, and then he had to go and _ditch_ her, not even attempting to console the girl in her moment of misery! What kind of friend does that?

_No friend would do that,_ thought Natsumi. She knit her brow in anger. _Saburo-sen… Saburo is no friend of mine._

Hearing her scream, the door to the room unlocked and in walked a man she did not recognize, dressed in white and looking to be in his mid-forties. He pulled out a chair for Natsumi and took one himself with his papers in his lap. "Hello, Miss Hinata," he greeted.

Natsumi looked sadly in his direction but said nothing, nor did she accept the chair.

"Here, have a seat." He scooted the chair toward her. Natsumi didn't feel like refusing, so she mindlessly complied. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Tanoshii, and I will be your therapist."

Her eyes darted to him. "Wait—where am I?" she asked.

"You are in the city's Behavioral Health Facility. Now, we understand that your mental state is very fragile at the moment, so—"

"Am I… insane?" Natsumi asked out of the blue.

Tanoshii looked to the side. "Hmm… what do you think about that? Do you think you are insane?"

"Yes," she answered bluntly.

"Er… why do you think that?"

Natsumi furrowed her brow, trying to decide. "That's what the police said…."

"And why do you think that they think that?" he asked in an attempt to bring the situation to its simplicity.

"Um… because…" She squinted her eyes, trying to recall the scene. All she could remember was hugging Giroro's bo—_Oh, no_. She covered her mouth in horror. No wonder the truck hadn't stopped for him! Giroro had his anti-barrier! Because he was an _alien_! If aliens were released to the public… _then they might take the others away, too! And it's all my fault!_ she realized. Natsumi covered her mouth as sobs wracked her body.

Tanoshii took note of this and wrote her reaction down. "Would you like to talk about how you feel right now?" he asked.

"No!" she screamed. "I don't… I don't want to talk! You can't make me say anything! I know nothing about aliens!"

"Aliens, hm?" he asked. "Come to think of it, you said something about aliens before you were tranquilized, didn't you?"

Natsumi was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Would you like to talk about these aliens of yours?"

Natsumi bit her lower lip, trying her hardest not to explode into another fit of tears. _It's not like there's anything I can do,_ she thought. _They have me cornered. I'm sure this was their plan from the beginning…. I might as well tell them…._ Natsumi took a breath and began. "Not many people believe in the existence of aliens, but they're wrong," she started. "Five of them came to this planet to invade, which my brother and I prevented them from doing, and then another one came along. There was one in particular that I… that I…." She started sobbing again.

"These aliens…" said Tanoshii, writing something down, "…can you explain them to me? Their appearances, how they act."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

Natsumi paused, knowing that this was probably their way of gathering information on the stupid frogs. If she didn't tell them, they'd probably take the rest of the people she cared about, too. She had no choice but to say it all. "Most of them resemble frogs, called Keronians, and are in a platoon of five. My brother and I took Keroro, their leader, hostage. He does our household chores and likes Gundam models. Tamama is a bipolar alien. Kululu is a creep. I forgot the other one. Mois-chan, an Angol, lives to judge and destroy planets."

Tanoshii almost dropped his notebook. "You… _live_… with someone who destroys planets for a living?"

Natsumi nodded. "And then there's Giroro…. He was my best friend…always protecting me when the other stupid frogs were trying to invade… always being so sweet and nice, even if he was supposed to invade our planet…." She sniffled as more tears started falling. "And now he's _gone_! Because he protected me too much, and pushed me out of the way of that truck! Why couldn't _I_ have died instead of him?" she sobbed.

"Hmmm…" Tanoshii tapped his chin with his pen, thinking. "It sounds to me that this 'Giroro' alien is in love with you."

Natsumi wiped some of her tears away and looked at him in shock. "Wh-WHAT? N-no, that's absurd! Giroro and I were just friends!" She looked downward. "Good… friends…." _Maybe… I… DID love him…_ she thought. _Do I…? I—I can't, I…. No… oh, no, I haven't really just TOLD all the secrets of the stupid frogs, have I…?_

"Um… ha ha." Natsumi forced a laugh and stood up in her chair. "Just joking! I got you. There's no such thing as aliens."

Tanoshii stared at her in disbelief. "Wh-what? Then how do you explain that red thing that got hit?"

"Oh, that was just my dog. He has a… medical condition," she lied.

He glared for a moment at his notebook, sighed, stood up, and left it in the chair. "Ugh, I can't keep doing this. I quit. You're worse than that Asami girl who claimed she had a doppelganger for a tutor!"

She let herself relax as he left the room. _That was no therapist,_ she thought, leaving herself. _Can people really be this dumb? Is that the kind of world we live in?_

Natsumi walked herself home that night, shaky and wondering what she would do with Giroro's absence. It was surprising. Normally, after someone's death she'd be horribly sad and mourning, but right now she was feeling awfully happy. And for 7:00 PM, it was awfully sunny. She felt like she could just float right off the ground into the clouds. _That sounds nice,_ she thought.

Natsumi closed her eyes, feeling the warmth on her skin as she ascended into the air. How nice it was to fly. She could see the birds, soaring with the wind. She could see the sun, dancing behind the clouds. Keroro soared up right next to her.

"Stupid frog! What are you doing up here?" asked Natsumi.

"I've come to join you, Natsumi-dono!" he replied, flapping his arms lightly to keep aloft.

She smiled and gave him a pat on the head. "Well, it's nice of you to join me. How was Fuyuki while I was gone?"

Keroro gave no answer. He was slowly slipping away from her, drifting away as she continued floating farther and farther off.

"Are you going already?" She shrugged. "Fine. See you later, then."

Natsumi tried to keep flying, but she felt herself bump into something. She looked up and saw it was Saburo. Though oddly, the blush that would have normally overtaken her face in such a situation did not come.

Saburo turned around. "Oh, hey, Natsumi-chan. You're up rather high," he greeted.

"So are you," she said.

He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "Look, uh… I'm sorry about leaving you in the middle of the street. I had, er… homework and stuff."

"Oh, that's okay. I forgive you," she smiled. "You know what else? I have something that will make you laugh."

"Really? What is it?" he asked.

Natsumi gave a sly smile and took out a tickling feather. Saburo twitched nervously, and she started tickling him.

"Ah! Haha ha ha, haha ha ha ha!" Saburo laughed. "Please stop! That really tickl—HAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHA!"

Natsumi giggled. "I'm glad you're enjoying it. Isn't this fun?" She continued tickling him, making sure to tickle every part of his body. Some of the time she'd tickle across his face, directly in the stomach, and on the neck, especially. She even tickled his eyeballs. Eventually Saburo stopped laughing.

"Um… Saburo-senpai? Why aren't you laughing anymore? Saburo-senpai?" She tickled him again; no use. Saburo would not move. "Ugh… I feel weird," she said, holding her head in pain. She drew her hand away to find it soaking wet. "Huh? Is it raining?" Natsumi looked up, but there was no rain. "That's odd…." She held up her feather. "My tickling feather is wet too…." Her hand felt around Saburo's face. "And so is Saburo-senpai."

She looked around her for an exit, a way to leave the situation, and finally continued walking for a while until she satisfied herself with crawling behind a cloud. It was there that she saw Fuyuki flying up to her. "Sis? Where have you been? The Sarge and I were worried, and now he's collapsed suddenly! I got a call that said you'd been checked into a mental hospital or someth—" Fuyuki paused and pointed a shaking finger at the feather in Natsumi's hand. "Sis… what's that?"

"This?" Natsumi looked at the wet feather in her hand. "This is a feather! I tickled Saburo-senpai with it."

"Si—" Fuyuki froze. He slowly shook his head, eyes wide, and gulped. "Th-that's no feather…."

"What?" Natsumi blinked. Suddenly she was no longer in the sky, but in the entryway of her own house. She saw the legs of a collapsed Keroro poking out from the kitchen. She turned to the seemingly heavy object she held in her hand, and saw not a feather, but a sharp knife dripping with blood. Her eyes widened in horror.

"F-f-f-f-f-fuyuki…" she whispered, her voice quivering, "…why am I h-holding this?"

Her brother gave no answer. The knife dropped from her hand.

"You don't look too well, sis. We need to get you to sit down," he told her, letting her lean against him for support. He dropped her on the sofa, where he plunked down right next to her and started flipping through channels on the TV.

"What have you been doing all day? Where were you?" he asked.

Natsumi's head rolled back onto the arm of the sofa, and she spacily replied, "Flying…."

"Um… okay? Have… you… seen the Corporal at all? I haven't seen him all day."

Her pupils contracted at the memory of Giroro. Fuyuki stopped switching through channels as the news came up.

"This just in, from the city of Oku-Tokyo," announced the reporter.

Fuyuki jumped up in excitement. "Sis! That's where we are!"

A clip of where the accident earlier that day slipped by. "It seems earlier today there was a horrible accident by the crosswalk, when two teenagers stepped into traffic." Footage was showed of the aftermath, as well a picture of Natsumi and Saburo's faces.

Fuyuki's eyes widened. "Sis…?"

The reporter continued. "Neither teen seemed to be hit by the accident, but the driver took a severe swerve into a building, causing an explosion. The driver, however, cannot be interrogated, as he was killed in the crash. However, it seems that a non-human creature was hit and killed as well, but scientists are puzzled at what it could possibly be…."

Fuyuki didn't hear the rest of what the reporter said. All that registered was the clip of the policeman laying the white sheet over the mangled remains of Giroro's body. His face paled in a mixture of horror and shock. "Sis—" he gasped.

"Don't say it, Fuyuki! Don't say anything!" She stuffed her face into the pillows of the sofa and started sobbing. "Just leave me alone!"

"The Corporal was… killed?" said Fuyuki in dismay.

Natsumi sniffed. _I want to join him…._

"After interrogating her temporary therapist," the reporter carried on, "the female witness revealed that this creature was an alien, as were many other creatures living with her this very moment. The police are currently looking into whether or not her claim is true."

"S-sis!" Fuyuki yelled angrily. Natsumi looked away from him and refused to say anything.

"If true, as is the rest of what she had claimed, the red creature probably died after pushing her and the male out of the way in order to save them." The scene was showed of Natsumi getting pushed to the ground by an invisible force, shouting "Saburo-senpai!", and then Saburo getting pushed away as well. "Only one possibility can currently be deducted from this: the red alien is in love with the female."

"And it's not true!" sobbed Natsumi. "Everyone says it, but it's not true!" She looked toward her brother. "Is… it… Fuyuki?"

Fuyuki bit his lower lip. He knew that if he told her, it would probably make her feel even worse, but… his sister probably had the right to know why Giroro had pushed Saburo and her out of the way. "Sis…" he said quietly. "The Corporal…." He sighed. "What they say is true."

Natsumi blinked dumbfoundedly. "And you… knew this?"

He gave a silent nod. Natsumi stuffed her face into her knees and screamed.

"On a related note," continued the reporter, "the male witness's body has recently been found by the edge of the street, murdered by someone we are yet to track, for there are no weapons to be found in the site." They shot a picture of the mutilated body. Natsumi gasped. Each place a blade had touched his body was in the same location she had—

No. Oh, god, no.

Her eyes wandered back to the knife she left by the door. An unfamiliar image of cutting up Saburo flashed in her mind. Unfamiliar, but… suddenly, she remembered it. She remembered it all. Hitting Keroro over the head with a shovel. Murdering Saburo with the knife. But why? Why had she done it?

_I don't know and I don't care,_ she thought. _If Giroro were here, he would comfort me, maybe say how wonderful I am and hold my hand…._ She clenched that very hand of hers in anger. _But he's not here! Because he's DEAD! Dead because he saved me!_ Natsumi's eyes drifted back to the knife on the floor. But perhaps… there would be a way to better things…. She smiled and lowered her head. _Don't worry, Giroro,_ thought Natsumi. _I'll see you again… soon._

"Fuyuki," Natsumi suddenly stood up. "I'm going to take a bath. You stay here. I'm going to sleep now, okay?"

"Okay, sis," her brother yawned. Unbeknownst to him, there was a different meaning to her words.

Natsumi quietly picked the knife up from off the floor and began ascending the stairway to her room. With each step she grew more certain of her decision, more confident of what she was about to do. Furtively, she slipped into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She gazed out the open window to the night sky, looking up to the stars. How peaceful they seemed. Natsumi took a breath and gripped the knife in her hand. A second red hand reached over and touched hers. Surprised, she looked next to her and saw Giroro on the windowsill. His warm, familiar smile brought tears to her eyes.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She wiped her tears and nodded. "Yes."

He held her hand, and in her hand the blade, as she released the trigger of escape and slipped away, silently in the night.

* * *

**…Wow... I really did bash Saburo a lot...**

**In the future, I will certainly try to do better to NOT write about him again. Because we all know how that ended. My apologies to anyone who didn't like this. I suppose it's just one of the steps in being a writer.**

**By the way. KuluMois two-shot was a flop. I wrote it three times and then decided that I couldn't do it so I demolished the idea.**


End file.
